DIY || Coconut Oil Face Wash

by Kortney Campbell on February 4, 2013

Saying I have the most fickle, sensitive skin would be an understatement. If I even look at a non-oil free moisturizer, smell fried foods or hear someone is hormonal, game over – my face breaks out. In my lifetime, I’ve tried everything from the gentlest facial cleaners to oral and topical prescription treatment and none of them did much for me. While a clean vegan diet and exercise always help, my skin is currently the clearest it’s been since my pre-pubescent years thanks to this new Coconut Oil Face Wash I’ve been using. I’m not even kidding – I don’t even use powder/foundation any more (except on those baby-sleep-schedule dark circles, of course)!

Let me preface this with the fact that I love coconut oil. It is a miracle product of nature that can be used both internally and externally to combat bacteria and candida/yeast (we’ll talk about that in the Coconut Oil 101). However, given my skin’s innate ability to ruin my day, I was terrified to use it on my face. Getting over that fear literally changed my life. This little concoction is now the ONLY thing I use on my face (excluding make-up). It’s a one-stop shop that replaces make-up remover, soaps, toners, moisturizers, wrinkle creams etc!

What You Do:

Fill a large microwave safe bowl with hot water and place the opened jar of coconut oil in the middle (the water should go about half way up the jar).

If you have time to spare, you can let the oil sit until melted. If not, microwave the water in 3-5 minute intervals until the oil is clear and almost all melted (be careful not to microwave for too long as you’ll need to be able to touch it).

Use a towel or oven mitts to carefully remove the jar of oil, dump the water and fill the bowl with the sugar.

Pour half of the 14oz jar of oil over the sugar and mix well. (You may need to add a little more, but it should be nearly completely absorbed by the sugar with very little liquid left).

Add several drops (or big shakes) of lavender and peppermint oil to the bowl and continue to mix (You can adjust the amount to your preferences).

Fill your mason jars with the contents, decorate with pretty ribbons or fabric scraps and share with friends!

To Use:

Wet your face with a warm cloth

Scoop out a nickel size finger(s) full portion of the scrub and apply to the skin until the sugar has dissolved.

Rinse with warm water, massaging the oil into your face, paying close attention to any dry, wrinkled or breakout-prone spots (it will feel greasy at first).

While I call it face wash, this scrub can really be used on your entire body (best used while taking a bath to really soak up the benefits – talk about soft skin)! I typically use it on my face 1-2 times per day (twice if I’m going out/wearing makeup) and the lavender + peppermint combo make it perfect for morning and night. It’s equally relaxing and refreshing. Technically, you could make a day version (peppermint) and night version (lavender), but I fancy the sensory overload provided by the combo.

What are some of your favorite DIY Aromatherapy or body care recipes? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

Oh, and a baby-free drive today led to a windows down and volume up inspired Music Monday that brightened my day & I hope it makes you happy as well!

About Kortney Campbell

I'm Kortney; a wife, natural mama and vegan in love with life, food and all things vintage! I've been vegan since December 2007, but have loved to cook & create pretty things since before I can remember. I started Vegan Housewives because I don't think you have to give up the joys of food when going vegan! I have a fondness for re-creating non-vegan recipes (especially my grandma's), making a healthier & animal friendly version so be sure to send me your favorite concoctions by clicking our "share a recipe" button - I would LOVE to veg-i-fy them!

I love this idea I’ve had the same problems with my skin and the money spent on products is insane. I’ve decided to make this for me and my sister and at our local natural market I found fractionated coconut oil which is a liquid form an says it has enter disinfecting properties in this form… Not sure if you know anything about it but I might try substituting 4oz of the regular coconut oil with this. ( also says its not greasy feeling)

I make my own toothpaste. I use a coconut oil/ baking soda combo. I also mix in some almond oil. A baby food jar (snag some from other mommas if you make your own baby food like I do) is the perfect size for this! You want it to be a paste like texture but make sure it isn’t to smooth.

I leave mine at room temperature. However, it’s been pretty cold, so it’s like a sugary brick lately unless I take a bath! haha Dependent on how much you use at a time and what you use it for, it will vary. I primarily use it on my face (on my body once ant a while) and it will last me a few months :)

I’ve been using this for a week now and the results have been amazing! My face gets very oily during the day and I usually need to blot a few times a day. After 2 days of using this, blotting is no longer necessary as my face no longer gets oily. I also used it as a body scrub and my skin looks and feels amazing. I’ve forwarded this recipe to all of my friends to try. Thank you!! =)

I’m looking forward to trying this recipe for my face, but the only 2 questions I have are, does the roughness of the sugar over exfoliate the skin? And when I rinse I massage more coconut oil or just what I’m rinsing off ?

Do you just leave the mason jars on your counter, or do you have to refrigerate? Also, can you use cold-pressed coconut oil, or is that considered “raw.” New to the whole coconut oil thing…just heard it’s a natural sunscreen, and I’m trying to get all of the chemicals out of my life :)

I just whipped up a small batch of this (about 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil and eyeballed the mix of raw sugar and brown sugar until it looked right. I don’t have any EO right now). When I was finished I just couldn’t help myself… I licked the spoon I stirred it with. Talk about a quick fix for a serious sweet tooth! I would add that to my morning coffee. Haha I love the versatility of coconut oil. I can’t believe I went nearly 26 years not knowing about this oil. In fact, I thought it was the worst for you! I use coconut oil right now for my toothpaste as well as for oil pulling. When I run out of deodorant I’m going to make my own with coconut oil as well.

Did you experience any breakouts when you first started using the scrub? I have made it and tried it for a few days. My skin feels soft, and I don’t have any more dry skin, but I also have a few new pimples. (I eat a vegan diet, and I’m on a raw cleanse right now) I am giving it a few more days to see if my skin needs to get used to it and let the cleanse do its thing.

I have very fair skin so rubbing this in so the sugar dissolves made my face quite red so maybe I’ll only lightly massage it in for a few seconds before I rinse. Felt like I was getting a treat at the same time though with the delicious sugary mix. Kept licking it off my lips when it fell :)
Will use it for a few weeks and see how I go.

Hi :) great recipe I can’t wait to try it, I’ve recently decided to go the natural route for my skin care and it’s been doing wonders so far (I can’t believe all the money I wasted all these years on brand name ahem crap)

The only thing I wanted to ask was whether this is safe to use daily? You said to use it 2-3 times daily and I’m wondering is that ok? I would really like to be able to use it daily but I’m worried about harming my skin since I’ve always heard that scrubbing every day isn’t good. Thanks for sharing the recipe! :)

I have SUPER sensitive skin & I only use it once at night now then just rinse with warm water in the morning to re-liquify (not sure this is a word haha) the coconut oil. I’ve come to find that my makeup gets a little funky if I use it again in the morning.

I have been using this one to two times a day for the past week and I can already see a difference! I’ve had trouble with areas of patchy dry skin on my face that none of the “super duper” moisturizers could fix and after using this my skin is balanced and I have no need for moisturizers at all! Love love love it!!!

Ok so I’m super excited to try this because I have super sensitive fair skin, and this summer (I live in Phoenix, AZ) I have been sweating so bad and my face has NEVER broken out like this before! Its super hard to deal with :( but what other essential oils can you put in the mix in place of lavender or peppermint? Would lemon be ok??? Thx! love your blog :)

Citrus oils are NOT recommended for use on the skin! They have great antibacterial and antifungal properties, but they also cause a reaction with sunlight that can be very harmful to your skin. Stay away from lemon, grapefruit and orange oils in any skin care products!

We use the oils not only for the scent, but for their properties as well. The scrub itself is very clarifying so I don’t think tea tree oil is a must. Just be careful with tea tree as it can dry you out or cause problems for sensitive skin. It needs to be significantly diluted.

That sucks! Does it make you itch when eaten or used topically? I can’t speak on behalf of the olive oil as I don’t use it on my face. However, it doesn’t have the same bacteria + yeast fighting and healing “powers” that the coconut oil does so I don’t think it would work the same. :(

I use this on my face all of the time! Just as a heads up, coconut oil is also the best eye makeup remover I have ever used (even waterproof mascara!). Get a pretty good size amount on a fingertip (1/2 tablespoon-ish) and massage gently for about a minute, then wipe off!

I have been using this wonderful face scrub for a few months and just absolutely love it! I have very sensitive, break-out prone skin, and this wash is gentle, yet exfoliating, so it is perfect for me! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

No, ma’am! Coconut oil has amazing anti-bacterial properties. I used to have issues with hormonal acne and blackheads and now my skin is probably what I’m most confident about in regards to appearance :)

Hey Ana! I wash my waterproof mascara off with plain coconut oil then wash my face with the scrub every night. In the mornings, I just rinse my face with warm water then pat dry. I have super sensitive skin and haven’t had any problems :)

I would really like to start using this, but I’m worried that it would work for a little while than my pores would clog and become even worse. Your hormonal symptoms and finicky skin conditions sound identical to mine. Are there other things that also helped with your breakouts? I’ve been trying to balance my hormones for two years and still have breakouts and redness and a mostly uneven skin tone. Sometimes I can’t imagine that it will ever end! A vegan diet, exercise, stress-relief, supplements, and the brand, Evanhealy works best for me, but I’ve gone through two jars of product and still am suffering. Any advice would be amazing.

Hi Maya! I’ve been using this stuff for over a year now and my skin is still really clear. My occasional breakouts are limited to one or two tiny bumps every once and a while (usually this only happens when I’m out of the scrub or forget to use it for a day). I went through several oral and topical prescriptions that didn’t help me at all as well as countless washes, toners, soaps, moisturizers etc. None of them worked for me. This stuff seriously changed my life.

Hi! How long did it take for this scrub to clear your face up? I know they say give new skincare routines 4-6 weeks to see complete results, just wondering if that’s true in this case as well. Your skin looks phenomenal, btw. :)

I think I’ll update this post soon because I’ve learned to more efficiently make it in smaller batches! haha the smaller grain sugar is a bit more exfoliating, but as long as you have enough coconut oil added and are using warm water, it dissolves fairly quickly. You could do a 1:2 ratio of small to large and see how it works with your skin. :)

I just made my first jar – I so much hope that it works for me! I’m sick and tired of my facial skin.. I’m having acne-breakouts and blackheads all over the place (for about 1 year since I stopped using the pill..).. I’m a bit scared that it will get worse.. But I’ll try it anyway! Cheers&Greetings from Germany

Ah – you young gals!! I never had a problem with my skin until I got older – much older. I am in my 60s and have breakouts constantly. Will give this a go. I use coconut oil in my lotion bars (coconut oil, almond oil and beeswax), a bath wash (almond oil, coconut oil and castile soap), cooking, etc. Where was this stuff when I was your age??

I shower in the mornings, so do you suggest using the scrub at night to get rid of my makeup, and just wetting my face (no oil/scrub) in the shower? Or use it both times? Or just oil after I shower? So many options!

Haha! The first paragraph describes me perfectly! I hate my breakouts :(. I already use Coconut Oil for a number of other health benefits, so i’ll be sure to try this recipe out tonight, just wondering – how long does this tend to stay fresh for?

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